Persona Project

For this project, I decided to capture the persona of the absurd materialism of New York City privileged youth. The girls in my pictures represent the majority of girls in private schools in New York who use New York City as their playground. While their lives may seem glamorous and fun, what has really happened is that their innocence has evaporated as they catapulted from 12 to 20 in their own minds.

From a first hand look, these images look like a group of beautiful girls getting ready for a fun night out. Yet when one sees these images, they might not guess that the girls in these photos are only 15 years old. The girls do "grown up" things, wear fancy expensive clothes, and have parentless Upper East Side apartments. I tried to capture the ridiculousness of their lives and how they may be negatively portrayed to outsiders.

Emulation Project

For this project, I decided to emulate the photographer Whitaker. The main idea behind Whitaker's work is to take the everyday average snapshot and turn it into an illusion. His photographs are very convoluted and abstract to the point where it's hard to detect what the image is. To emulate his style and thought process, I took snapshots of nature and printed them using a paper negative. I drew, scratched, and made holes in my paper negatives to turn real life images found in nature and transcend them into fantasy, with mysterious and dreamlike qualities.

Mapping Project

For this project, I decided to map college bathrooms. Being a Freshman at Oberlin, and having only been here for a month, I've had to get used to a lack of privacy. At home, I would get dressed, do my homework, and shower in my own personal space. Being here, I've had to adjust to sharing. A bathroom is one of the strangest places of all to share. I decided to capture the beauty behind the awkwardness of showering next to a stranger, peeing next to a boy, and making small talk while I brush my teeth.